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(No Model.)

G. A. HALL.

GAS BURNER.

No. 603,219. Patented Apr. 26, 1898.

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UNITED STA ES PATENT OFFICE,

GEORGE A. HALL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO GEORGE E. DAYTON, OF SAME PLACE.

GAS-BURNER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 603,219, dated April 26, 1898.

enable others skilled in the art to which it f appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the lettersand figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

' My invention relates to burners of the incandescent type, and more particularly to the variety commonly known as Welsbach burners. A serious difficulty encountered in the use of these burners is the short life of the incandescent hollow cone or mantle, which, being made of earthy salts, is exceed-, ingly delicate and fragile and under the most favorable conditions has limited durability by reason of the'deteriorating and disinte grating effects of the intense heat to which it is subjected in use. I have discovered by repeated and continued experiments that the burning out and-disintegration of the mantle are more rapid under an uneven flow and consumption of gas than when the flow is even; and regular and the flame steady, and one of the objects of my invention, therefore, is to regulate and control the flow of gas to pro-v duce uniform consumption under varying pressure. Other sources of difficulty are the breaking of the mantle by shocks, jars, &c., to which the burner is often subjected in use, and its disruption bythe expansion o'fthe metal burner when by accident or through carelessness the mantle is fixed too low or in too close proximity to the burner. In use the mantle should be set as low as possible in order to prevent the flame or any part there of from escaping between the burner and the mantle to the exterior of the latter; Here- Serial No. 628,042, (No model.)

of the mantle and break or disrupt the same,

'while if set too high to leave an open space between the base of the mantle and the metal burner when the latter was expanded by heat inferior lighting effects were the result. A further object of my invention is to remedy or remove these difficulties and to avoid injury to the'mantle from the causes referred to.

To these ends the invention comprehends,

first, a governor or regulator combined with a gas-burner and operating automatically to produce a uniform flow of gas to the burner under Varying or variable pressure; second,

a non-expansible covering or jacket for the burner or such part thereof otherwise in immediate proximity to and liable to come in contact with the mantle and to injure or break the same by expansion under heat, and this part of my invention also comprehends the use of a non-heat-conducting covering or jacket to protect the metal burn er and prevent the same from becoming highly heated and unduly expanded, and third, a support for the base of the mantle to hold the same against lateral movement relatively to the burner and to prevent injury by shocks, jars, &c.

Other features of the invention will be hereinafter described, and set forth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a vertical central section through a burner embodying my improvements; Fig.

2, a detail sectional View showing a modification; Fig. 3, a sectional view of the governor or pressure-regulator; Fig. 4, a detail in plan and section, and Fig. 5 a plan View of the plug of the stop-cock for controlling the flow of gas from the governor to the burner.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the arm of a gas-bracket or chandelier, and 2 the nipple thereof,on which the burner-tube or pillar is usually screwed. In the present instance I screw a governor or pressure-regulator-3 on the nipple 2 and mount the burner on the top of said governor, as shown in Fig. 1, where the burner as a whole is designated by the letter A. The governor 3 comprehends an internally-threaded tube provided with diaphragms 4 5, which are screwed 'thereinto and adapted to be vertically adjusted to vary the distance between them. The diaphragm 5 has through it a central tapered opening, in which is fitted a needlevalve 6, which by its vertical movement opens and closes the opening in which it works more or less to regulate the flow of gas therethrough. The upper diaphragm 4 has also a central opening (marked at) of sufficient size to supply the burner with gas under the lowest ordinary pressure.

The needle-valve 6 has at its upper end a flat head or disk 7 and at its lower end a coneavo-convex disk 8, the concavity being on the under side. The two disks 7 and S are approximately of the same size. Their function and purpose will be explained presently.

1O designates a fitting or coupling which has its lower end screwed upon the top of the governor 3, and the upper end of which receives and holds the base of a Bunsen tube 11. This coupling is provided with a stopcock 12, which controls the flow of gas from the governor 3 to the burner above.

The top of the Bunsen tube 11 projects into a gauze burner 13, formed with and sustained by a tubular neck 13, through which the tube 11 extends. The burner 13 consists of a cylindrical shell provided with a wiregauze cap 11-, which is held thereon by a flanged ring 15, that fits around the upper portion of the burner tube or shell, the inturned flange at the top overlapping the edge of said cap.

The burner is fitted with a tapered or coneshaped ring 10, counterbored from the top toprovide space for the ring 15. This ring 16 rests on and is sustained by a shoulder 17, preferably formed by crimping or upsetting the shell of the burner at the base thereof.

\Vithin the burner 13, immediately above the Bunsen tube 11, is a bell-shaped spreader 18, formed with a tubular stem 19, the end of which is secured in a central opening in the gauze cap 4.

A small tube 20, screwed into the coupling 10, rises through the Bunsen tube 11 and extends through the tubular stem 19 of the spreader, terminating just above the gauze cap 14, as shown. This tube forms a central jet-burner receiving gas from the governor through a central opening 21, )rovided for the purpose in the coupling 10 and communicating with a corresponding opening 22 in the stop-cock 12.

The stop-cock 2 is formed with a central chamber and with an opening 24, which com munieates with the governor to receive gas therefrom through a central passage 25 in the lower end of the coupling 10. It is also formed with openings 26 27, leading from the chamber 23 and eonnnunicating with corresponding passages 28 29, formed in the upper end of the coupling 10 to admit gas to the Bunsen tube 11, or, rather, into a chamber 30 at the base thereof, formed by an inverted cup 31, (shown in plan view and in section in Fig.

4,) from which chamber the gas passes into the tube 11 through openings Four openings are shown in Fig. 4:, but a greater or less number may be provided, as may be found expedient, the purpose being to distribute the gas in order that it may become more thoroughly mixed with air entering the tube through openings For the more thorough admixture of air and gas the air-openings 33 should correspond in number with and should be located opposite the gas-openings The corresponding and communicating openings 24 25 are larger than those 26 27 28 29, the purpose of which is to enable the gas to be entirely out off from the tube 11, while still permitting it to flow into the chamber 23, a further object being to furnish a constant or continuous supply to the tube 20, which, as before stated, forms a jet-burner and which being kept constantly burning serves to ignite the gas above the gauze cap 14: when the supply is turned on. A circumferential groove or channel 31, formed in the stop-cock 12, extends from the opening 22 a sufficient distance to form a gas-passage between said opening and the passage 21 when the cock is turned to out off the gas from the main burner.

The operation of the apparatus thus far de scribed is as follows: Referring first to the governor or regulator 3, it is well known that the volume of gas, air, or any subtile fluid that can be forced through a passage or orifice depends largely upon the directness or indireetness of its course, the volume being larger as the course is more direct and smaller as it is less direct, and this knowledge I have utilized in constructing my governor. Gas being admitted at the bottom of the governor, the pressure thereof against the under side of the disk 8 raises the needle-valve 0 and opens the same, the gas then passing into the chamber between the two diaphragms at and 5, around the disk 7, to and through the opening at in the diaphragm 4, and so on toward the burner. The valve being opened by pressure from below, it follows that the extent to which it is opened must depend upon the amount of pressure, being greater as the pressure is higher and less as it is lower. The opening of the valve to any extent raises both of the disks 7 and 8, making the course of the gas from the edge of the latter to the valve-opening and from the edge of the former to the aperture 4: and through the latter more tortuous the further the valve is opened and so retarding the flow, the effect of such retardation being a tendency toward an equalization of pressure on opposite sides of the disks 7 and 8. Inasmuch, however, as the flow of gas through the aperture 4 tends constantly to destroy such equilibrium, there is always an excess of pressure on the under side sufficient to keep the valve open, and so long as the pressure remains constant the Valve will remain in the same position. Any

augmentation of the pressure from below will at once raise the valve andincrease the valveopening, and so by making the course of the flow to and through the aperture 4; less direct retard the flow, such retardation being in proportion to the increase is gas-pressure. On the contrary, any diminution inthe gas-pressure will leave a momentary excess of pressure above the disk '7, between the latter and the diaphragm 4, whereby the valve will be forced down and partly closed, the effect being that the course from the edge of disk 7 to and through the aperture 4: becomes more direct and the flow through said aperture more free, so that approximately equal volumes of gas flow through the regulator in equal times under the same or varying pressures, giving uniform consumption and an even and steady flame, conducing to greater durability of the mantle, as well as to an improvement of the light," the latter being rendered more steady and even. When the gas-pressure is unusually heavy, so that the range of movement of the valve and its disk 7 is insufficient to retard the flow to the required extent, compensation is made by adjusting the two disks or diaphragms 4 and 5 closer together by screwing one down or the other up to make the direction of the flow more tortuous. On the other hand, if the pressure be unusually low, so that the necessary opening movement of the valve retards the flow, too much compensation is made by separating the diaphragms 4 and 5 to render the fiow more direct. By reason of theconcavity of the disk 8 there is an excess of pressure on the under side sufficient to overcome the back pressure on the upper or convex surface and keep the valve open, the action being on the same principle as in Robinsons anemometer.

The means for controlling the flow of gas from the governor to the burner and the general construction of the latter require no further description, and it only remains, therefore, to describe my improvements for protecting the mantle against injury by shocks, jars, &c., andfor preventing it from being broken or ruptured by heat expansion of the burner.

Referring to Fig. 1, 35 designates a non-expansible ring or jacket which surrounds the upper portion of the burner 13 above the cone-shaped ring 16 and preferably extends slightly-say one-eighth of an inch-above the burner tube or shell. This ring may be made of any suitable material having the property of non-expansibility by heat; but I 1 preferably make it ofprepared asbestos or asbestos cloth, this material serving also as a non-conductor of heat to prevent the metal of the burner from becoming unduly heated; also, by reason of its soft and spongy character it will when made of sufficient thickness take up any expansion of the burner under'the influence of heat within the same.

It will be understood that the ring or jacket 35 being non-expansible by heat and being adapted to take up or absorb the expansion of the metal which it covers, the mantle may ment to secure the best lighting effects and at the same time guard against damage by expansion of the burner; also, that this property of non-expansibility, which permits the mantle to be set in contact with the ring 35, adapts the latter to serve as a stay or support to prevent lateral movement of the base of the mantle relatively to the burner, giving material security against injury by shocks, jars, and vibrations and adapting these lights for use on ships, boats, railway-trains, elevated stations, &c., where it would otherwise be inexpedient to use them.

In Fig. 2 I show a modification which consists in extending thejacket (marked 85* in this view) down over the cone-shaped ring 16. It subserves the same purpose in both cases. The cone-shaped ring 16 is, so far as I know, a new feature, and its purpose is twofold-first, to adapt the burner to mantles of different sizes, and, second, to prevent the up ward draft of air from coming in contact with and chilling the mantle. Incidentally it subserves also another purpose, which is to transmit the heat from the interior of the mantle to the asbestos jacket 35 and to prevent the mantle from being cooled or chilled when in contact therewith.

The mantle, which is indicated in the drawings by broken lines marked 15*, is supported from the top by a vertically-adjustable standard 16 as usual.

I do not wish to confine myself to the exact details of construction as shown and described, but reserve the right to make such changes and modifications as would suggest themselves to the skilled mechanic so long as the principle of operation remains the same.

Having now described my invention, I claim 1. The governor or pressure-regulator hereinbefore described, the same comprehending a tube having therein a diaphragm with a central valve-opening, a needle-valve working loosely in said opening with its pointed end toward the gas-supply and carrying at its lower end a concavo-convex disk with the concavity facing toward the gas-supply and at its upper end a plane disk, and beyond said plane disk, beyond the range of movement thereof, a perforated diaphragm.

2. The combination with a burner of the character described, of a non-expansible ex terior ring or jacket arranged and adapted to serve as a seat for the base of the incandescent mantle.

3. The combination of a burner, a luminous or incandescent mantle, and an exterior nonexpansible ring or jacket on the burner, between thesame and the base of the mantle.

4. The combination of a burner of the char acter described, a c0ne-shaped metal ring fiting on said ring to form a base or support for ted thereon, a non-expansible jacket or covan incandescent mantle. 1o ering on said ring extending to the top of In testimony whereof I affix my signature the burner, and a luminous or incandescent in presence of two witnesses.

5 mantle. GEORGE A. IIALL.

5. The combination with the burner, of a \Vitnesses: tapered or cone-shaped ring surrounding the F. L. IRISH,

same, and a non-expansible jacket or cover- JOHN G. TWUT. 

